For their 226th podcast, FACT are incredibly proud to present a mix by legendary jungle and house producer, Rupert ‘Photek’ Parkes.

Renowned for his impeccable drum programming, Photek had already been releasing singles for several years when, in 1997, he released Modus Operandi, his legendary first album and a record remarkable as much for its atmosphere, restraint and measured, ice-tipped grooves as its potential to send dancefloors wild.

Having established himself as one of the kings of the jungle (ahem), Parkes would go on to experiment with house music (most notably on 2001 single ‘Mine to Give’, featuring Robert Owens), as well as soundtrack work, and collaborations with artists as disparate as Goldie and Nine Inch Nails.

2011 has seen Photek back with a vengeance that fans haven’t seen in years, releasing a new EP this month, Avalanche, and working on remixes for Daft Punk and Ray LaMontagne as well commissioning mixes of his own material by Boddika, Breach and Addison Groove. According to his people, there’s more new Photek material to come, and so what better time for a FACT mix than now. Billed as an “influences mix” by Parke, it’s an expert selection of bleep techno, classic house, hip-hop and more, with highlights coming from LFO, Mr. Fingers and The Soulsonic Force. (FACT MAGAZINE)

Thursday, 10 February 2011

Having caused a storm on the forums since late last autumn, the anonymously titled UK bass anthem-in-the-making ‘Sicko Cell’ will see a release soon on Loefah‘s hugely on form Swamp81 imprint (via FACT).

Having been caned by the likes of Oneman, Loefah, Bok Bok, Jackmaster et al, the origin of the track is still under wraps (though current favourites seem to be either Steve Oneman or Loe himself). ‘Sicko Cell’s “I’m the information / cocaine powder” refrain and 808 bass has caused devastation on dancefloors throughout the capital, with a photo posted on Swamp81′s tumblr account confirming it will be Loefah’s label releasing the track as Swamp014.

The keen-eyed amongst you will also notice that 2 of the preceding releases will be a 12″ from New York’s FaltyDL, plus a double pack from Instra:mental’s Al Bleek in his Boddika guise, as Swamp010 and Swamp 011 respectively.....

Tuesday, 1 February 2011

"We’ve been nagging Andy Butler to record a FACT mix ever since the release of his debut single as Hercules & Love Affair, ‘Classique #2′. Four years later, and the boy’s come good.

In fairness, it’s been a busy half-decade for the New York producer and DJ. Hercules & Love Affair’s debut album, released via DFA in 2008, saw he and his band rocketed into cult/pop stardom, and by God did they tour that album hard – in 2008-9 you couldn’t even go down the newsies for a packet of crisps without catching a H&LA live show en route.

Hercules & Love Affair’s new album, Blue Songs, is out this week on Moshi Moshi, and things have changed. Recorded with Patrick Pulsinger in Vienna, and to some extent eschewing the brassy disco tropes that defined the band’s debut, it finds Butler delving deeper than ever into his ’86-’94 house obsession – lead single ‘My House’ is a loving homage to Chicago and New York’s overlapping 4/4 golden eras, while ‘It’s Alright’ is a beatless cover of the Sterling Void jam – but also developing the range of his songwriting, even singing himself on the agreeably frail title track. This an album that expertly juggles ecstasy and heartbreak, the melancholic and the celebratory. With Nomi Ruiz and Antony Hegarty absent this time around, Butler and his trusty sidekick Kim Ann Foxman have recruited young pup vocalists Aerea Negrot and Shaun Wright, both of whom maintain the tears’n'mascara diva-ishness of their predecessors while bringing a palpable and infectious enthusiasm to proceedings.

So why is Butler so preoccupied with classic house? Even his recently minted record label, MR INTL., is dedicated to new productions hat evoke and allude to that bygone era.

There was an elegance, subtlety, a sophistication to that music,” he explains over the phone. “It was fine art. The depth and substance is unparalleled. I don’t think anything goes as deep as those early Murk records, for example. Nor do you get the opposite. You don’t get to hear people go off in the way Tyree did, you know, going off but classily.”

FACT mix 218, it’s fair to say, goes off classily. Butler – a killer DJ who knows his shit and then some – builds it around classic cuts from the likes of MK and Praxis, but also includes a couple of recent cuts from Hercules and Kim Ann that show how his crew are trying to take that sound forward today. There’s nothing blue about this selection, we can assure you." (FACT MAGAZINE)

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